Association Between Periodontal Disease and Breast Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective: The present study evaluates a possible association between breast cancer and periodontal disease (PD) as a risk factor. Materials and Methods: Ethics approval 3.462.635. This is a systematic review of the literature combined with a meta-analysis. Five databases were searched, and relevant studies published were retrieved and screened. The articles were evaluated and subsequently synthesized using the PRISMA methodology. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to assess the association between PD and the risk of breast cancer were calculated. Results: Initially, 712 were identified, and after abstract analysis, 14 articles were selected for qualitative evaluation, and 11 presented sufficient data for meta-analysis. We selected cohort studies (prospective and retrospective) and case–control studies. Literature reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical case reports were excluded. Regarding 233,215 women, the meta-analysis showed that PD increases the risk of developing breast cancer, OR=1.619, 95%CI 1.544–1.698, and this positive association was present in seven studies. Conclusion: PD increases the risk of breast cancer. Since the quality of the studies was heterogeneous, further studies with improved methods are needed to better quantify the risk.